The field of wireless communication has seen dramatic growth the last few years. In today's world, most people use their wireless devices for various purposes, business and personal, on a constant and daily basis. Society is truly becoming a wireless one. A lot of wireless solutions have been introduced, and have made tremendous strides into everyday's life.
For example, the use of Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) has been gaining popularity in a great number of applications because of the flexibility and convenience in connectivity they provide. WPAN systems generally replace cumbersome cabling and/or wiring used to connect peripheral devices and/or mobile terminals by providing short distance wireless links that allow connectivity within very narrow spatial limits (typically, a 10-meter range). WPAN may be based on standardized technologies, for example Class 2 Bluetooth (BT) technology. While WPAN may be very beneficial for certain applications, other applications may require larger service areas and/or capabilities.
To satisfy such needs, other technologies have been developed to provide greater wireless service. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) systems may operate within a 100-meter range, for example. In contrast to the WPAN systems, WLAN provide connectivity to devices that are located within a slightly larger geographical area, such as the area covered by a building or a campus, for example. WLAN systems are generally based on specific standards, for example IEEE 802.11 standard specifications, and typically operate within a 100-meter range, and are generally utilized to supplement the communication capacity provided by traditional wired Local Area Networks (LANs) installed in the same geographic area as the WLAN system.
Other forms of wireless solutions have evolved from traditional land-based communication technologies. For instance, cellular phones have become just about an absolute necessity in today's world. While cellular technology was merely intended to add an element of mobility to the traditional telephony service, this technology has grown beyond that initial purpose. Many modern cellular technologies, including such technologies as GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, and/or CDMA2000, incorporate substantial data capabilities. Most of today's cellular services comprise such features as text messaging, audio/video streaming, and web browsing.
Some WLAN systems may be operated in conjunction with WPAN systems to provide users with an enhanced overall functionality. For example, Bluetooth technology may be utilized to connect a laptop computer or a handheld wireless terminal to a peripheral device, such as a keyboard, mouse, headphone, and/or printer, while the laptop computer or the handheld wireless terminal is also connected to a campus-wide WLAN network through an access point (AP) located within the building. Also, cellular technology may allow use of the mobile phone as a form of wireless modem that allows connecting a laptop, for example, to the internet via a cellular network.
Devices aimed at taking advantage of the capabilities of wireless networks may be described as wireless mobile communication (WMC) devices. Today's WMC device may comprise such devices as cellular phones, PDA's, laptops, and/or other devices.
WMC devices are typically designed to be carried around, and used on the move; therefore, physical limitations remain a major consideration in designing these devices. Increases in the size and weight of WMC devices may be disfavored; rather, decreasing the size and weight of WMC device may be more consistent with the convenient use of WMC devices. Subsequently, there is a limit on the amount of processing and storage that can be packed into WMC devices without causing increase in size and weight. Increases in processing and/or storage generally require use of additional components; however, WMC devices' manufactures generally shy away from putting too many components in these devices because of said physical limitations. Therefore, despite the general rapid development in the overall electronics industry, WMC devices continued to lag behind other devices in processing and/or storage capabilities.
In addition to physical limitations, power remains another major limitation in WMC devices. While the battery technology has seen dramatic improvement in recent years, it has generally been unable to keep up with the explosive growth in electronic technology. Therefore, battery power remains a major bottleneck in the operability of WMC device.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.